


Caurinus

by E_K_Hannila



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Apocalypse, Birds, Cyborgs, Mutants, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-06 13:46:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16388837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E_K_Hannila/pseuds/E_K_Hannila
Summary: There are so many things I wanted to do.My third album was almost complete -- never released.I was about to go on a world tour -- never showed.Because some guy with a God complex decided I was worth experimenting on.Well, I've got a message for you, Cole. And I know you can hear me.I'm coming for you. And I'm gonna destroy you like you destroyed me.





	1. The Nightmare (Prologue)

I have been abducted by aliens.

That’s the only explanation for what’s going on right now. I was abducted by aliens.

Or, at least, I’m going through the same experience as everyone else who thinks they were abducted. You know, a crazy dream, or going in for surgery and forgetting what was going on.

I opened my eyes, staring up into a bright light. I couldn’t move, or even make a sound.

A metal object was pressed to the side of my head, and I felt a sudden pressure – not painful, but it was like getting hit in the head with a small rock thrown very, very hard.

_Did I just get fucking shot or something?_

There was a faint whrr-chnk, whrr-chnk, several times,  as something moved around the place where I’d just been ‘shot’ , then cool, damp bandages were wrapped around my head, covering one eye.  The  sudden soft darkness was enough to put me back to sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

When I came to, I was in my bed at home.

I sat up, looking around. My head was pounding, like the worst sinus headache I’d ever had, all through my skull.

“Oh, God, did I get drunk or something?” I said to myself, my throat dry as sand. I went to the bathroom, leaning over the sink as I slowly took a sip of water. As the first drops reached my stomach, I thought I would be sick, but I managed to keep it down, and the nausea passed in a few moments.

I looked up at the mirror, my head going light as I saw my reflection. I looked like hell – pale, thin, with ratty hair and sunken eyes. My gauges were missing, leaving the holes in my earlobes. The bandages on my head were mostly gone, other than a palm-sized gauze pad taped to my right temple.

_It… it had to have been a dream,_ I told myself, sinking to my knees and sitting on the bathroom floor. “This is impossible,” I mumbled, shaking my head slowly. 

I lay on the floor for a while, struggling to process the realization that it had been real, it had all been real.

After some length of time, I was startled back to awareness by a buzz.  _My phone._ I dragged myself to my feet, going out to the living room and picking up the small black object. There were hundreds of missed messages and calls, and dozens of voicemails. 

_Andrew: What’s up, man? We were supposed to do a cover, but you didn’t show._

_Matt: You said you’d be on the livestream, dude. What gives?_

_Zach: Where were you? We could’ve used our druid the other day._

I scrolled through the messages, tears pricking at my eyes. The oldest messages were from two months ago; the newest was the one I’d just received, from Andrew.

_If you get this message, call me. I need to know if you’re okay._

I swiped through my contacts, tapping his icon.

“ _Hello?”_

“H-hi, Andy,” I said, my voice shaking.

“ _Nate! Where have you been, man? We’ve all been so worried about you!”_

“I’m not sure,” I said, slowly sitting down. “I don’t remember much of anything. I was in a… a hospital, I think, and there were these people, they never talked to me…” 

“ _Nate, calm down, you’re not making any sense,”_ Andrew said.

“This doesn’t make any sense!” I said. “For all I know, I was abducted by aliens! So, what, am I crazy or something?”

I heard only faint breathing for about half a minute.  _“I’m coming over,”_ Andrew said.  _“Are you at your apartment?”_

“Yeah,” I said. “Come quick.”

\-----

I paced back and forth, tugging at my hair anxiously. What if Andrew brought the police or something? 

“ _Then you’ll run away,”_ a small voice in my head said. I agreed with it; I couldn’t go to jail or the hospital. And for all I knew, if they came to take me away, they’d take me right back to where I’d woken up before. 

I was so worked up, I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone knocked at my door.

“Nate? You in there?” came a familiar voice. I went to the door, opening it a crack and looking out. Andrew was standing there, alone, but I could see a small wrinkle in his coat that hinted he was armed. 

“Can I come in?” he said.

“Yeah,” I said, opening the door further. Andrew came in, shutting the door behind him.

“Could you please sit down, Nate?” he said, moving to stand by the couch. I did as he asked, putting my hands on my knees and trying not to panic.

Andrew sat down next to me, taking my hand. “Can you explain to me what’s been going on?” he said.

“I don’t really remember,” I said. “I… I remember being in surgery, and the doctor put… _something_ , I don’t know what, in my head.” I turned to show him the bandage. “When I woke up, that was already there, I didn’t put it on myself. I remember a few things, vague details, but nothing specific.” 

“What kind of vague details?” Andrew said. 

“I remember the doctors or whoever, talking about operatives,” I said. “And something about crows. Andrew, I’m freaking out, I really don’t know what’s going on.”

“Just wait a second,” Andrew said, getting up. “And stay calm.”

He headed to the bathroom, coming back with the small first-aid kit. “Hold still,” he said, carefully peeling away the pad on my temple. I hissed at the sting of cold air against my skin, but forced myself to sit still and not pull away.

“What is it?” I said.

“Um… Nathan, you’re not gonna like this, but I’m starting to believe your story,” Andrew said. “There’s something on the side of your head.”

I got up, running to the bathroom and looking in the mirror. There was a rectangular metal patch, about the size of a thumb drive port, set into the side of my skull, flush with the slightly reddened skin around it.

“We’ve gotta get you to a hospital,” Andrew said. “We have to figure out what that thing is.”

“ _You go to a hospital, you’re dead._ ”

“No!” I said. “If… if I go back to a hospital, they’ll just keep doing whatever they were doing to me.”

“Nate –”

“I’m not going back there, Andrew,” I said, pressing my hand to the side of my head. “I’m not letting them experiment on me!”

“Fine, we won’t go to the hospital,” Andrew said, raising his hands in front of him. “Just come back, sit down, and I’ll get you some water.”

“ _Good, Nathan,”_ the voice said. “ _Do as he says, and both of you will be fine… for now._ ”


	3. Chapter 3

I lay down on the couch, hyperventilating a little. Andrew came in with a glass of water.

“Hey, Nate, how you feeling?” he said, setting the glass down.

“I just found out that my nightmare was real, how do you think I’m feeling?” I said.

“Sorry,” Andrew said. “Is there anything I can get you?”

I shook my head. “I… I don’t know what to do. I can’t get this thing out of my head, and I don’t know what it’s doing while it’s there.”

“Nate, I’m not going to force you to, but I really think you should go to the hospital,” Andrew said. “I know you’re scared, and I promise, if anything happens, we’ll get out of there. But if they can figure out what that thing is, then maybe they might be able to get it out, or at least keep it from doing anything.”

“Do you really think that they would let me leave after they find out about this thing?” I tapped the side of my head, my nail making a _plink-plink-plink_ noise against the thin metal. “And if they do manage to get it out, what do you think will come with it? I was out for two months. This thing could take half my brain with it if they try and remove it.” 

“I promise, I will make sure they explain everything completely,” Andrew said. “If anything makes you uncomfortable, we’ll leave. But I need you to trust me on this.”

I looked over at him. “You promise?”

Andrew nodded.

I sat up, drinking the glass of water in one go. “Then fine,” I said. “We’ll go.”

\-----

I put on my gray cap, making sure it hid the implant, then followed Andrew out to his car.

“Nate, I don’t know if you’re going to freak out, so for both of our safety, I’d prefer if you were in the back seat,” Andrew said.

“I’m not gonna freak out,” I said.

“Are you one hundred percent sure that you won’t have a panic attack and make me crash this car?”

“Point taken.” I got into the back seat, resting my chin on the front passenger seat. 

“ _Are you sure this is a good idea?_ ”

“No,” I mumbled.

“What was that?” Andrew said.

“Oh, nothing,” I said, realizing I had said it out loud.

“ _You tell him about what you’re hearing, and I’ll make sure both of you disappear._ ”

\-----

I got out of the car, going with Andrew into the waiting room of the ER. I got checked in, and Andrew and I sat down.

“Here, this’ll help you calm down,” Andrew said, handing me a _Popular Mechanics._ I flipped through it, most of the articles going way over my head. One caught my eye: “This Man Can Write a Story Without a Keyboard”. It was about brain-computer interfaces; the man in question could connect to his computer wirelessly and slowly, letter by letter, write with only his thoughts. 

“Smith?”

I looked up as the nurse called for me. Andrew nodded, and the two of us followed her to a side room.

“So, you weren’t exactly willing to say what the problem was at the front desk,” she said. “Can you tell me now?”

“It’s okay,” Andrew said, taking my hand. I met his eyes, then took a breath, my hands shaking, before taking off my cap and moving my hair aside so the nurse could see.

“I – I have no idea what it is,” I said. “I remember being in surgery, and then I just woke up in my apartment with this thing in my head.”

The nurse stared, her eyes wide, then picked up the phone. “We need a neurological specialist asap,” she said, never taking her eyes off me.

“This was a bad idea,” I said, half to myself and half to Andrew.

“Just stay calm, and you’ll be fine,” Andrew said.

The nurse hung up the phone. “Come with me,” she said.

\-----

I sat down on the bed, struggling to breathe normally.  My fingers dug into the sheets, nearly tearing the fabric, and I couldn’t stop tapping my foot. The smell of bleach filled the air, and the white walls and ceiling terrified me. 

A man with white hair came in, followed by two nurses. “Are you Mr. Smith?”

“Yeah,” I said. “C-Call me Nate.”

“All right, Nate, I’ve been told about why you came in,” the man said. “I’m Dr. Arran, by the way. You said you have an implant in your head that you don’t remember getting?”

“Mm-hm,” I said, turning so he could see.

“Well, this is… unusual, to say the least,” Arran said. “Of course, an MRI is out of the question, since the magnetic fields would – well, it would be dangerous. So I suggest we start with an X-ray, to see what it looks like.”

“ _It won’t help,”_ the voice said. “ _They can’t get it out. All you’ll achieve through this is finding out what’s in your head. Hell, I could tell you that. We’ll meet very soon, Nathan._ ”

“Nate?” the doctor said. I looked up sharply, startled. 

“What?” I said. “Did I miss something?”

“I was going over various diagnosis and treatment options,” Arran said.

“I… I was distracted,” I said.

“ _Keep your mouth shut, remember?_ ”

Arran listed off the different options again, so I could hear him. Andrew asked dozens of questions, making sure I understood every single detail of the options. Needless to say, I was not thrilled about any of them.

\-----

I lay down, closing my eyes as the X-ray camera was wheeled in. I felt a dull humming in my head as the picture was taken – was that from the implant? Maybe, I had no idea what it was for.

“Turn your head, please,” the doctor said. I did so, looking around as I waited for the X-ray to be done.

“ _I’d like to get to know you,”_ the voice said. “ _What’s your favorite food, color, word? Anything about yourself._ ”

“Fuck off,” I said, keeping my voice low.

The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, shaking as pain surged through me.

“ _All you have to do is cooperate, Nathan,”_ the voice said, still perfectly calm. “ _How difficult could that be?_ ”


	4. Chapter 4

I came to in a hospital bed. The pain still lingered, deep in my bones, but the convulsions had stopped. Andrew sat next to me in a plastic chair, asleep.

I reached over, tapping the back of his hand. He woke with a start, then his eyes focused.

“Hey, Nate,” he said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

“What happened?” I said, slurring my words a little.

“We don’t know,” Andrew said. “The doctors think that the X-ray had some bad effect on the implant, and that’s what caused your seizures. Luckily, they were able to get a few good, clear images of the implant.”

“What are they saying about it?” I said.

“It’s not good,” Andrew said. “It looks like the implant has wires running through your brain. They’re so entangled that any attempt to even move it would kill you.”

“So it’s gonna be there for the rest of my life?”

“I’m afraid so,” Andrew said. “The best they can do is keep it monitored, to make sure it doesn’t start to cause damage.”

“They don’t even know what it is, do they?” I said.

Andrew shook his head.

I sighed, my head falling back against the pillow. “So when can I go home?”

“As soon as I get you signed out,” Andrew said. “You think you’ll be up for Dark and Dicey? If not, that’s okay.”

“ _Escapism is good,”_ the voice said. “ _But if the others saw you, they would have questions you’re not prepared to answer.”_

“N-No, I don’t think I should,” I said. “It wouldn’t be safe.”

“Nate, what is going on?” Andrew said. “Is that thing in your head making you say this stuff?”

“ _Don’t you dare.”_

“No,” I said. “I… I can’t explain it, but I know that if they finds out about this, then they’ll all be in danger, too. And if any of them got hurt, I couldn’t live with myself.”

Andrew leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his knees. “Okay,” he said, “okay. I’ll tell them you’re sick. Is there anyone else you want me to notify? Anyone who should know?”

“ _I suppose Matthew would be valuable for my plans,”_ the voice mused, as if it didn’t know I could hear it. _“And Mark… and that little Irishman, of course. Much as I detest his kind, he has some intriguing genetic traits.”_

“I… I can’t hurt them,” I said under my breath.

“Nate, who are you talking to?” Andrew asked, his brow furrowing slightly. 

“ _Not. A. Word.”_

“No one,” I said, getting up. “No one at all.” 

\-----

Andrew got me checked out of the hospital, and the two of us headed back to my apartment.

“You think you’ll be okay if I leave, just for the night?” Andrew said.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I said, sitting down on the couch with a beer. Normally, I didn’t like getting drunk, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t do any harm if I just got wasted tonight.

“Well, if you need me, just call,” Andrew said. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you.”

He left, and I lay down on the couch, one leg hanging over the side. “So, you got anything else you wanna say?”

“ _You’re being much more cooperative than I expected,”_ the voice said. 

“What did you expect?” I asked, taking a swig of beer.

“ _Judging by the neurological scans we took, you weren’t likely to do anything we asked of you,”_ the voice replied. “ _Frankly, I expected you to kill yourself.”_

“If you really knew anything about me, you’d know I would never resort to suicide,” I said. 

“ _Many of them do, eventually,”_ the voice said. “ _Don’t worry, though. It won’t be much longer before the implants finish calibrating.”_

“What then?” I said. “You’re gonna shut up and let me live my life?”

“ _Oh, Nathan,”_ the voice said in mock pity. “ _Do you really think your life will ever be normal after this? At best, you_ might _be able to convince people you’re sane – for a little while, anyway.”_

“You know, I – I don’ really like yer tone, mister,” I said, getting up to get another drink. I stopped, leaning on a wall. “Missus? What are you?” 

“ _My name is Cole,”_ the voice said. “ _Cole Titus Reider. You would be wise to remember that name.”_

“You would be wise to shut up,” I slurred, grabbing a beer out of the fridge and popping the cap off on the edge of the counter. I chugged half of it, spilling a decent amount down my shirt, then went back to the couch, falling half on the floor as I sat down. 

“ _Nathan, put that down immediately!”_ Cole was furious, but I didn’t care. I downed the rest of the beer, then swung one arm over to the coffee table, grabbing my phone and looking through my contacts for someone to make words at. 

“Hey, Andy,” I mumbled once my phone started buzzing.

“ _Nate, are you drunk?”_ Andrew said. 

“Jus’ little bit,” I slurred, the voice in my head barely registering. “I got som’thn’ I’ve been meaning to tell ya. You listenin’?” 

“ _Yeah...”_

“Listen, listen,” I said quietly. “There’s someone who’s been talking to me. In my head. He’s telling me all kinds of crazy shit. Sayin’ he knows all about me, that he’s gonna make me disappear…” I trailed off, nearly dropping the phone as I slumped down off the couch. 

“ _Nathan, I’m coming back right now,”_ Andrew said. 

“No, I’m – I’m fine,” I mumbled, the phone slipping from my hand as I fell to the floor. 

“ _You have no idea the mistake you’ve just made, Nathan,”_ Cole said, quiet anger rolling beneath the surface. “ _I meant everything I said. You disobeyed me, and now you and Andrew will both pay the price.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so, I know some of you are probably waiting for an update to Golden Eyes. I've got exactly zero work done on the next chapter, and it might be a little while. Plus, I have to fix some pretty big plot holes in this story, so I might have to pause on posting this one, too. Sorry.


	5. Chapter 5

I lay on the floor, unaware of the passage of time. I couldn’t see or hear anything but the static that filled my head.

“You gonna kill me?” I screamed, my own voice inaudible as I felt for the edge of the couch and crawled onto it. “Then go the fuck ahead! Do it!”

“ _Oh, I’m not going to kill you, little magpie,”_ Cole said, his words perfectly clear. “ _But by the time I’m done with you, you’ll wish I had._ _As for Andrew… he’s nothing to me.”_

The pressure in my skull grew to painful intensity, and I started bawling uncontrollably, freezing when I felt someone grab my shoulders.

“No! No! Let me go!” I howled, thrashing against the person’s grip. He only held on tighter, trapping me in a bear hug. But he wasn’t trying to carry me away or pin me down – he was standing still, holding me in place so I didn’t hurt myself.

I broke down in tears, still functionally blind and deaf. All I could feel was the steady vibrations of my rescuer talking to me and the pressure of his arms pinning mine to my sides.

“ _He can’t keep you safe for long,”_ Cole said, the static fading a little and giving way to darkness and silence. “ _Soon, the Operatives will be here, and no normal human or ave is strong enough to fight them off.”_

“Shh, shh, you’re safe.” Andrew’s voice trickled through the haze. 

“He’s gonna kill you,” I sobbed. “You’ve gotta get out of here.” 

“He’s not here,” Andrew said quietly. “Just settle down, and I’ll help you through this.”

He guided me over to the couch, sitting me down. “Focus on me, Nate. You need to breathe. In two three four, out two three four.”

I tried to follow his instructions, still shaking uncontrollably. I felt like my head was going to explode.

“Good, good,” Andrew said, once my breathing had steadied. 

“They’re coming for me,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Get out of here, tell someone what’s happening.”

“I’m not leaving you like this,” Andrew said.

“ _Do you want to know exactly what’s going to happen to you?”_ Cole said. 

“No, please, no,” I mumbled. “Please, just leave me alone.”

“ _Very well.”_

The static ceased, leaving me in utter silence and darkness.  I dug my fingers into the couch, fighting to stay anchored and not completely lose my mind. 

Maybe it was too late.

Time passed. Andrew never  let go of me, keeping his arms around my shoulders  and rocking slightly. He was talking, but I couldn’t hear a thing – I could only tell because of the occasional vibrations. 

Then, without warning, the pressure on my arms disappeared. I felt something hit my leg as Andrew moved away quickly, and the floor shook with heavy footsteps – at least four people.

They were here. The people my tormentors sent.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me to my feet. I had no choice but to follow – I didn’t know where I was, other than that I was in my living room, so if I tried to run, I’d crash into a wall.

I was led down a back stairway, nearly falling several times, and  taken to a cold, small room. It was a vehicle of some kind – a van. 

Of course it had to be a van. Because what kind of kidnappers would they be otherwise?

I sat down with my back pressed against the wall, feeling for something to hold onto.

“ _You didn’t have to make this so difficult, Nathan,”_ Cole said, startling me. “ _You could have come to me of your own volition. Then Andrew would have been safe. Andrew, Matthew, Mark, all of them – I would have left them all alone. They’re valuable, yes – but every single one of them pales in comparison to what you’ve got hiding in your DNA.”_

“What do you want?” I mumbled under my breath.

“ _You, obviously,”_ Cole answered. “ _You have a few lines of DNA that are going to help me solve my problem. You see, up until now, the Archangel program hasn’t been working properly – the angels always break through their programming and go rogue, kill themselves, or escape my control in some other way. But after studying your cells, I’ve figured out how to make sure that never happens.”_

“Then why couldn’t you just use the DNA you had? Why did you need the whole person?”

Cole chuckled. “ _Simulations are good, but a real, living example is perfect. You’re going to be the evidence that the Archangel program works.”_

“And what if it doesn’t?” I asked. “You don’t know me. I – I can fight it.” 

“ _No, you can’t, Nathan,”_ Cole said. “ _You’d need a miracle. And all the miracle workers belong to me.”_

\-----

By the time the van doors opened again, I’d regained most of my vision, but not my hearing.

I squinted at the harsh sunlight as I was taken out of the van by two guards. Each one took hold of one of my arms, marching me inside.

I was taken to a room with what looked like a dentist’s chair. Realizing too late what was about to happen, I struggled vainly to get free as the guards forced me down and fastened tough straps over my arms and legs.

A doctor wheeled a cart over,  checking my eyes with a light. She said something, then took several photos of my tattoos. 

I looked around, my heart racing.  _There’s gotta be some way to escape. There always is._

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my arms out of the restraints. The straps were cinched tight enough that there was no way I’d get out of them without mangling my hands.

“ _You make one wrong move, and Andrew loses an eye,”_ Cole said icily. 

An image of Andrew strapped to a table flashed through my mind. He was shaking and sweating as a robotic arm hovered over his face. The end of the shiny metal limb held a scalpel.

“Please don’t hurt him,” I said, tears coming to my own eyes. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

The blade moved back slightly, and Andrew visibly relaxed, closing his eyes and exhaling.

_I’m so sorry,_ I wanted to say. No. I didn’t want to say that. 

I wanted to never have to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that plot issue I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it's not one I can fix the way I wanted to. Basically, I needed to introduce a new major plot point, which I can't do with the story right now -- I've got something like 23 chapters written out already, and this would take an almost complete rewrite of three to five of them, plus changing little details in a lot of other ones, which would have a cascade effect in the plotline, and anyone who knows anything about time travel knows how catastrophic one little change can be. So... no hallucinated "friend" in this draft.


	6. Chapter 6

My vision flashed white, and I howled in agony as a flood of electricity surged through my skull.

“ _Very good, Nathan,”_ Cole said, not caring in the slightest. “ _This session is almost complete.”_

I couldn’t focus long enough to respond with multiple words. “ _More?”_

“ _We’ll have to see,”_ Cole replied. “ _If this one takes, then two more.”_

I grit my teeth against another jolt. “ _Fuck you.”_

“ _Maybe three.”_

\-----

By the time the torment was done, I couldn’t see straight. The room was filled with the reek of singed hair – a few strands must have been caught under the electrical pads.

A guard came in, half-dragging me out and taking me back to my cell. For the last  month , I’d been living in a tiny eight-by-ten concrete room without so much as a blanket. I had changed into plain blue shorts and a T-shirt, while my old clothes were nowhere to be found, and the gauges in my ears had been replaced with translucent white plastic disks. I wasn’t allowed to keep anything, not even my tattoos – they’d all been lasered off. 

I lay on the floor, curled up with my face to the wall. Outside, I could faintly hear ventilation fans whirring, the buzz of fluorescent lights, and occasionally someone walking by – but thankfully, no screaming.

There was always screaming.

Eventually, I regained some motor control, slowly sitting up in a corner. I ran my fingers through my hair nervously, the burns on my scalp stinging as my fingers brushed over them.

“ _When’s the next session?”_ I asked. 

“ _In a few days. Once you have control of your body back, we’ll test whether or not the information uploaded has properly settled into your brain. While we wait, I have some questions to ask you.”_

“ _Ask away,”_ I said, lying down to counteract the rising nausea. 

“ _Have you ever been in a fight?”_

That one didn’t take much thought. “ _Yeah, plenty. Typical stuff, kids on a playground. Does that count?”_

“ _I mean a real fight,”_ Cole replied. “ _One with weapons, or trained attackers. Have you ever been afraid for your life?”_

“ _No, not that I know of,”_ I said. “ _I mean, I was in a hospital and a cracked-out addict came in with a knife, but he wasn’t attacking me specifically.”_

“ _Hmm.”_ Cole fell silent, thinking. “ _Then I’ll be interested to see how well you do. The neural uploads usually build on preexisting knowledge, but seeing as you have none, I don’t know whether or not it’ll have set in your brain correctly. Second question. What do you know about weapons?”_

“ _Well, I’ve never been in a fight,”_ I  pointed out. “ _So, not much.”_

“ _You are a disaster,”_ Cole sighed. “ _But not unsalvageable. It’s just going to take a lot of work.”_

“ _Or you could just send me and Andrew home,”_ I  suggested. “ _That would be nice.”_

“ _I’ve gone to this much work to get you here,”_ Cole said, almost laughing out loud. “ _Why on earth would I let you go?”_

\-----

Later that day, I was taken out of my cell and led down the halls to a large white room with a mirror spanning one wall. I was still shaky and sick from the “treatment”, so I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do.

A skinny man – barely more than a teenager – was shoved through a door at the far end, nearly falling to the floor. I walked towards him hesitantly, feeling a strange prickling in my hands and arms. It felt like they wanted to move of their own accord. My arms wanted to rise, my fingers wanted to curl. It was the most bizarre sensation, and it was becoming impossible to resist.

The feeling spread to my back, my legs, even my face. Without actively wanting to, I crouched with my knees bent, rolled my shoulders, and charged at the guy with a feral snarl.

He screamed, pounding on the door and trying to find a way out and away from me. I tackled him, dragging him to the ground and kneeling on top of him with my hands locked around his throat.

“ _Do it,”_ Cole said, almost giddy. “ _Crush the life out of him.”_

I leaned forward, pressing down on the man’s throat with my full weight. Cartilage and some bone cracked under my hands, and my victim’s lips turned blue as he struggled futilely to breathe.

His eyes glazed over as he stopped struggling, and a buzzer went off.

_What… the hell just happened?_ I blinked, the prickling feeling vanishing. 

“ _Good job,”_ Cole said. _“You just passed your first test.”_

I jumped back, falling on my ass and staring in horror at the dead man. Two guards came in, lifting me to my feet and marching me out of the room; I barely felt them.

\-----

I lay down on  the floor of my cell , staring up at the ceiling blankly.  _I just killed a man._

“ _You eliminated your intended target efficiently and effectively,”_ Cole corrected me. “ _Now, we can move on to the next stage. You’ll make a fine archangel once we’re done with you.”_

“ _Archangel? What the fuck do you mean by that?_ ”

“ _You’re going to find out very soon,”_ Cole said. “ _For now, just know that we only want the best for you.”_

“ _I find that hard to believe,”_ I thought to myself. “ _So when will this archangel thing start?_ ”

“ _It started as soon as we put the chip in your head,”_ Cole said. “ _But if you mean the next stage, then that will begin in a few hours. For now, is there anything you’d like?”_

I rolled my eyes. “ _I don’t know, a steak? Whatever’s in that stuff you feed me, it’s not steak.”_

“ _Done.”_

_Wait, what?_ This was surprising, to say the least. “ _You’re… actually gonna give me a steak?”_

“ _I assume medium rare?”_

About ten minutes later, sure enough, a man came to my cell with the most wonderful steak I had seen in ages. Maybe it was because I’d only had tasteless garbage for the last month, but this was the best meal I’d had in who knows how long.

\-----

I lay down on a cold table, trying to relax as a nurse put several IVs into my arms.

“I know it hurts, but you’re gonna be just fine,” she said, in the condescending tone one would use when speaking to a pet. She taped the last one in place, patting my arm lightly. “There, that wasn’t too bad, was it?”

I didn’t respond. I just wanted all this to be over with.

A strange pressure briefly appeared around the IVs, then faded as the sedatives dispersed in my blood. My eyelids grew heavy, and I slowly drifted off to sleep.

But even unconscious, I couldn’t rid myself of Cole.

\-----

“ _Hello, Nathan,” he says, sitting on a gray couch. I am standing – judging by the distance, I’m probably in a doorway._

_I look down at myself – I’m not wearing the blue scrubs, but a black t-shirt, light leather vest, and dark blue jeans. No shoes._

_Cole stands and walks forward to meet me. I can’t be sure if this is really what he looks like – light brown, nearly white hair, fair skin, coal-black eyes. He wears a light gray suit, white gloves, and white shoes, and he has what looks like some kind of bizarre white-and-brown cape or cloak. He’s much shorter than me – only coming to my shoulder – but I have a feeling that he could kill me if he wanted to._

“ _You’re Cole,” I say._

“ _You learn quickly,” Cole says. “Come, sit down.” He gestures to the couch. I do as he says, and he sits next to me._

“ _What’s going on?” I ask._

“ _Have you heard the stories about angels?” Cole says. “Strange winged people sighted in and around big cities.”_

“ _Yeah,” I answer. “But they’re just crackpot conspiracy theories.”_

“ _Are you completely sure of that?” Cole says with a smile. “After all you’ve seen here, all the incredible scientific achievements, can you say with absolute certainty that these angels aren’t at least possible?”_

“ _You’re about to tell me they are,” I say, slowly becoming aware of a pressure in my back. “You’re going to say that these angels are real, and that you’re one of them.”_

“ _Not just me,” Cole says. “You, too. Stand up.”_

_He directs me to a full-length mirror, and for the first time, I don’t know what to say._

\-----

I felt a warmth surrounding me as I slowly rose to consciousness.

I opened my eyes, unable to move, and looked around. I was in a tank of water, tinted slightly blue by a bright light above me.

The light turned off, and I felt small ripples in the water as the tank was opened. I was carefully lifted out of the water and placed on a bed,  and someone gently draped a soft blanket over me. 

I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next few hours, eventually falling asleep entirely. Cole didn’t speak to me again after that.

\-----

When I came to, I was back in my room.

I ever so slowly sat up, biting my lip to keep quiet as pain flared in my back. I shut my eyes tight as I managed to get my back against the wall, begging for the pain to stop, or at least abate slightly.

“No, no, please don’t let it be true,” I mumbled, reaching over my shoulder without opening my eyes. _He can’t have actually done it, he can’t be right._

My fingers brushed against silky softness, and I nearly broke down in tears as I ran my fingers through down feathers.


End file.
